The Potter Chronicles
by saintsandheroes
Summary: It has been 20 years since the end of the Wizard war and the magic world is at peace. But suddenly, the Minister of Magic, Aberforth Dumbledore, is taken into custody by the muggle government. Chaos ensues and both the worlds are on the brink of a war. Now, Harry Potter is torn between his duty to fight the muggles as an Auror, and his love for the muggle world.
1. Author's note

Author's note

Hello friends! The Potter Chronicles is a Harry Potter fan fiction. All the copyrights lie with the original creator of these characters, J K Rowling.

What happens when magic and science clashes? What happens when people with wands and guns come to a conflict? What happens, when the wizards and muggles wage a war, desperate to claim dominance over each other? The Potter Chronicles is a story about that war.

It is the epic tale of survival of two species, the ultimate fusion of science and magic; tinged with romance and dark humor.

Also, the historical and mythological events depicted in the story are **factual**.

So buckle up your seatbelts. It's gonna be a bumpy ride...

Your pal, Monarch.


	2. Prologue

_**1381 AD**_

 _ **Somewhere on the banks of River Thames...**_

Destiny has weird plans for everyone.

Eliza Flamel sat on the rocking chair on the porch of her hut, knitting. The rhythmic movement of her hands was absent-minded. Her mind wandered somewhere else...

Her hut overlooked the vast river that lay ahead. She felt like a tiny grain of dust in that vast river-bed. No one took notice of it. No one cared where it was. No one cared if it stayed or flew away. It was at the mercy of the wind.

She saw the twilight sun setting down the river. Golden sparkles of sunlight danced on the water's surface. It gave a feeling of hope. _Hope..._ that was something that Eliza lusted for now... She was grief-stricken.

Her entire family: Her parents and her two sisters, had been killed in the black plague a few years ago. She remembered their bodies being piled up with the other victims of the plague; as if they were some sort of junk. That was the last she'd seen of her native town. She had left her town for good.

She married a peasant, Thomas. Soon after she had married and moved on, she found out that she could never be a mother.

A tear trickled down her face as she replayed those sad events in her mind. Now, her husband had her left too; for the peasant's revolt against the government.

"He must be out there facing the brutal Royal Force." Eliza thought.

There was no telling when he would come home, or if he would come home at all...

But she blamed God for all of it. All her prayers had been futile. Why did He kill her family? Why had He left her barren? Why did He bereave her from her husband?

Eliza did not feel the tears welling down her face as she looked onto the river.

Suddenly she noticed something odd in the river; something glinting awkwardly. For a moment, her chain of thoughts was broken. She stopped her knitting. She strained her eyes, but couldn't see better. So, she got up and walked down the steps of the hut.

As she went closer, she saw it. It was a small basket with something gleaming inside it. The basket bobbed up and down in the water and finally landed at the bank. The light from beneath the cover grew dimmer.

Eliza had never seen anything of that sort. Her brows creased in a frown, she touched the basket with a finger and withdrew it on the sand. It was surprisingly warm. She removed the cover from the basket.

Beneath the cover, wrapped in blankets, was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A baby. It was fast asleep. On its small chest was a locket. The light was emanating from it. It finally dimmed and died.

The locket was the strangest thing she had ever seen. It was like a line, within a circle, within a triangle... Like a triangular eye. Who would know that centuries later, it would be known as the sign of "The Deathly Hallows".

Eliza stood in shock for some moments. Then she screamed "JO...!"

She wrapped the basket again and ran to her neighbour's house.

"JOANNA!" she screamed again.

Joanna came out wiping her hands on her apron. She was a skinny red-haired woman. She had a surprised look on her face.

"Look... Look what I found." Eliza said out of breath.

"Look what I found!" she said hysterically as she removed the cover.

There was the baby. It looked around with its baby-blue eyes and then broke into a cry.

"My Lord has heard me!" Eliza said as the baby's cries resounded inside the hut.

"My Lord has finally heard me!" she said, as her eyes closed and her knees buckled in prayer...


	3. Chapter 1: The Capture

_**Present Day,**_

 _ **Prime Minister's office, The United Kingdom.**_

It was a long day for the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. After all, visits from the President of the USA were rare, so naturally, there had to be all sorts of meetings and conferences and banquets.

Finally, on the evening of the last official day of the meetings, the Prime Minister and the President sat down in the office of the former at 10, Downing Street.

The Prime Minister's office, one of the most dominating political offices of the UK, had its own elegant effect. The large bulletproof windows overlooked miles of downtown London. A large Victorian-era chandelier hung from the ceiling. The sides of the room were lined up with bookcases, holding hundreds of books. The books ranged from diverse topics like present-day politics to the latest Playboy issues, discreetly jammed-up between works of Tolstoy.

The desk of the Prime Minister was a "treat" as his visitors described it. Purchased during the Gladstone era, it was made from the rarest wood found at that time. It was polished regularly with exotic oils. Many world-changing political decisions were taken from right here.

But the present day was different. The leaders of two superpowers were discussing light topics like cultural exchanges between the two nations, over a tea.

Along with the Prime Minister of UK was his Principal Private Secretary and along with the President of USA, was his Advisor on Overseas Matters.

The Prime Minister finished his tea. He dabbed his lips with a napkin and said, "Shall we begin, Mr. President?"

The President gulped the rest of his tea.

"Okay." He said, nodding his head slightly.

The President looked at both the secretaries and gave them a slight nod. Both of them left, leaving him and the Prime Minister alone in the office.

The Prime Minister took out a sleek briefcase from his drawer. The letters 'TOP SECRET' were engraved on it. He put his thumb on the handle. The software analysed his fingerprint. A few seconds later, the briefcase hissed open.

The Prime Minister took out a file. It was labelled, 'Project Black Wand.'

The Prime Minister took a deep breath and said, "Alright. By now, you know that an entire colony of humans, who call themselves 'Wizards' live right next to us. They have always been among us, hiding in plain sight. They have colonies in almost all the developed countries. To be precise, they have their own world."

"As you know, our governments have known about their existence for a while and they have agreed to keep their existence a secret. Now, the problem is, their population is increasing, and they are expanding their colonies. So, what do you suggest, we do?" the Prime Minister asked.

"We should peacefully negotiate with them like we've always done." The President said.

"That's not how it should work anymore. It's almost as if we're afraid of them. Why should we comply with their demands? What do we get in return? Nothing!" the Prime Minister said.

"Look, that's how it's been going on for centuries. The wizard and the... The 'muggle' governments co-operate with each other." The President said.

The Prime Minister smiled. He needed to cite a better example.

"These wizards have superhuman abilities. What if, one day, they decided to break their International Statute of Secrecy? What if, one day, they planned to launch a full-frontal assault on us?" The Prime Minister asked.

The President was at a loss for words.

"If they decide to go rogue, the Al-Qaeda and ISIS guys would look like kids with a parking ticket" The Prime Minister said.

"Well, then, what do you suggest?" The President asked, getting restless.

The Prime Minister pushed the file to the President. The President frowned and opened the file.

'Project Black Wand...' he read silently. Within the file were new reformed and stern policies of dealing with the wizard community. The President scoffed.

"They'll never agree to this." He said.

"Then, we'll launch a systematic military attack on them" the Prime Minister said coldly.

"Then you are on your own on this one. If you initiate a war with them, you can't expect any help from the United States" the President said grimly.

"Then they'd better agree to this" the Prime Minister said pointing to the file.

"We need to have some leverage over them for that" the President said.

"I'm counting on it" the Prime Minister said with a sinister smile on his face.

"Let me show you something" he said and got up.

He walked towards a poster near the far right corner of the office. The President followed him with an inquisitive look.

It was the poster of a man in a silver red robe. He had a beard so long that it was tucked down under his belt. He wore half-moon spectacles and had an enigmatic charisma in his smile.

"With all due respect, I don't recognize him, who is he?" the President asked. Then suddenly, the strangest thing happened.

The man in the poster stirred and said, "I am Aberforth Dumbledore, Mr. President". The President withdrew back in amazement.

"Ah! The magical poster!" The President said smiling.

"How I can help you?" the man in the poster smiled cordially.

"It is time" the Prime Minister said to the poster.

"Yes, sir" the man in the poster said and walked out leaving nothing behind but an empty photo frame!

The Prime Minister and President walked back to their seats.

"What was that all about?" the President asked, still confused.

"Well, I've arranged a meeting with the Minister of Magic" the Prime Minister said, not looking the President in the eye.

"And you didn't even have the courtesy to inform me! In the USA, we have a standard protocol to go through before every meeting with the wizards!" The President said, flabbergasted.

"It was an end-of-the-moment decision" the Prime Minister simply said.

Then suddenly out of nowhere, a human form took shape near the poster. It walked towards them. The man wore a golden yellow robe, but the face was the same. Those blue eyes, those half-moon spectacles, that long beard... The President was too shocked to speak.

"I am Aberforth Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic of the wizard community of United Kingdom. It is an honour to meet you, Mr. President" Aberforth said in a deep authoritative voice.

"How did you come here?" the President managed to choke.

"Oh" Aberforth said. "Just a parlour trick" he winked.

"Mr. Prime Minister" he said and shook hands with the Prime Minister.

"Please have a seat" the Prime Minister said and Aberforth sat.

"Without any further ado, we should get to work" Aberforth said and waved his wand. A pile of files appeared on the desk. He took out the top one and studied it.

"As you see, Mr. President, the colonies of wizards in the UK as well as the USA are expanding. Consequently, our rooms and resources are depleting at an alarming rate." Aberforth said and paused for a while to let it settle down on the President.

Unknown to Aberforth, the Prime Minister pressed a button on his watch.

"So as a peaceful..." Aberforth voice cut in between with the sounds of opening doors and heavy footsteps approaching. Suddenly, the office door opened with a BANG. It was the British Special Forces.

"On your knees! Hands where we can see them!" they shouted, pointing their M4 automatics towards Aberforth.

There were moments of grim silence. The President was shell-shocked. What was going on!

The Prime Minister held his breath as he tried to judge the Minister of Magic's reaction. Was it shock? Trepidation?

But, Aberforth was calm. He looked at the Prime Minister with a smirk and said, "I had expected a better welcome."

With that, he got up. With lightning speed, he waved his wand and a wall of fire appeared between him and the Special Forces team.

Everything slowed down... Multiple red sparks shot out of his wand and the next moment the fire disappeared and all the 8 Special Forces' elites were lying on the ground, stupefied.

Aberforth turned towards the Prime Minister, his eyes bloodshot. The Prime Minister gulped.

"Explain" Aberforth growled menacingly. He got dangerously close to the Prime Minister.

Suddenly the Prime Minister took something out of his suit. With a swift movement, he connected it with Aberforth's chest. A ripple of pain shot through Aberforth and he slumped down, lifeless.

"The wizards are dangerous. That's the simple reason." The Prime Minister said, putting back the stun gun in his suit. He kicked off the wand from Aberforth's hands.

More Special Forces' men entered the office, their guns ready.

"You okay, sir?" they asked.

The President was in a state of shock.

"Yes" the Prime Minister answered for both of them.

They were escorted to the adjacent cabinet room. The British Special Forces handcuffed the unconscious Minister of Magic.

The President sat on the spongy sofa, clearly baffled by the turn of events. The Prime Minister poured a glass of water.

"We needed a leverage. Now we have one." The Prime Minister said, offering the glass to the President.

The setup had been perfect. The Prime Minister looked out of the door. The covered form of Aberforth was being taken out through the dungeons. He knew that one of the BIGGEST covert operations of the century had been successful...

 **Author's Note: So, friends! How was the first chapter of The Potter Chronicles? I hoped you liked it. Do leave back your suggestions. I love a feedback from my readers. Thank you! :)**


	4. Chapter 2: The Hogwarts Reunion (part 1)

**1 week before** _ **The Capture:**_

Harry Potter sat in a coach of Hogwarts Express, wiping his round glasses with a handkerchief. It was such a wonder to be back again! He was beaming.

Beside him was Ginny, his wife. The seat opposite to him was occupied by his dearest friends, Ron and Hermione, now a married couple.

The speaker boomed "The train leaves in a minute, all passengers aboard."

"You want to give them a sneak peek?" Ginny asked Harry.

"Yeah, sure" Harry said getting up and wearing his glasses. The train slid slowly as Harry went to the door.

Immediately, there were cheers from the people on the platform. Reporters started clicking pictures. People pushed and shoved each other to get a glimpse of Harry Potter. Harry smiled and waved his hand. The Hogwarts Express pulled out of the platform. Harry was going back to Hogwarts!

Harry came back to his seat, smiling. He couldn't help being happy. It had been a long long time since he sat on this train. He savoured those beautiful memories...

"Pooooom... Poooom." The Hogwarts Express whistled as it chugged through the countryside. The meadows glistened golden in the morning sun.

Harry combed his hair, now visibly greyish, with his fingers. At 38, Harry was the Chief Auror of UK's Ministry of Magic. He was also an honorary Quidditch coach to the International Quidditch team of UK. He had a busy schedule, and break like this meant a lot to him...

His wife, Ginny, was a senior reporter of The Daily Prophet newspaper. She had to travel all over the world to cover international events and interview VIPs.

Ron was a director of his brother George's multinational company "The Weasley Magical Products".

Hermione had been working in the Ministry of magic as the head of Magical Law and Enforcement, but after years of toiling and playing office politics; she resigned. She was now a scientist in magical sciences.

Harry gazed out of the window at the rushing trees. He wondered how he too was once a first-year student travelling to Hogwarts in the same coach. To this day, he still got goosebumps when he thought about his first trip to that wonderful school.

The journey was surprisingly silent. Everyone was reminiscing their beautiful childhood memories. Finally, at dusk, Hogwarts arrived.

Harry got off the train and onto the platform. He saw that the entire train was full of his batchmates. After all, Neville had invited everyone to the reunion ( The Slytherins too. The differences were long gone now.) Harry saw a lot of familiar, yet grown-up faces.

"Oh, Harry!" a gravelly voice said.

Harry saw the huge form of Hagrid rushing towards him. Hagrid nearly squeezed Harry's eyes out as he hugged him tightly. Tears leaked down Hagrid's face and disappeared into his forest of a beard. He hugged all four of them.

"Been so good ta see ya' all!" he said.

"C'mon lets go. Everybad' to ter' coaches" he shouted.

Everyone rode in the coaches drawn by invisible Thestrals.

Hogwarts looked absolutely grand from afar. It was decorated with lanterns all over. There were firecrackers booming in the sky. Each tower of Hogwarts would send sparks of different colours in the sky; they would all meet and display a huge "HOGWARTS WELCOMES YOU!".

Hogwarts had changed a lot.

The trees along the both the sides of the pathway sprinkled petals of fragrant jasmine. The entrance to the castle was entirely made up of glass. There was water flowing down from all sides of it.

Everyone walked into a single file to look at the water, but as they entered the gate the water simply disappeared on the other side!

"Whoa!" Everyone gasped at the illusion.

"Neville sure spent some good money on renovations." Hermione said.

Finally, they came to the banquet hall. It was splendidly lit. Not a single corner of it looked less opulent. Magical candles floated all over in the air. Light snowflakes gently rained down from the artificial ceiling. There weren't four tables dividing Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, but a single large table at the center.

Everybody settled down. Then, Neville Longbottom, the new headmaster of Hogwarts came onto the stage.

Neville looked completely different now. His long, flowing robe and thick beard made him practically unrecognisable.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen" he said, his voice booming in the hall.

"It is an honour...To hell with the formal speech" he said throwing the speech paper away. Everyone chuckled.

With his sideways smile he continued "As we all know, it has been 20 years since the end of the wizard war. The world lies in peace now. Our batch played a key role in defeating the Dark Lord. Several of our near and dear ones lost their lives. It pains me a lot to not have them here today. But life goes on. We moved on. We settled down as traders, teachers, businessmen, aurors, headmasters." He smiled sadly.

"It is an honour to stand before my fellow classmates, but today, I am not a headmaster. Today, I am the same old geek I once was. Tonight we'll all be the same. Tonight we'll be the children we once were. And we'll dine and dance to our hearts' content. And yeah, you can ask your childhood crushes to dance with you today; spouses please don't object. Thank you for coming, friends. Let's begin the party!" Neville ended his speech.

A huge round of applause broke through the audience and the night erupted into a live performance by the famous wizard band, 'The Bent-Winged Snitches'.

Harry couldn't help but smile. This was going to be the best reunion ever!


	5. Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Reunion (part 2)

Harry sipped his champagne and savoured its sweet taste. He had been asked to dance for four consecutive times now and he was respectfully declining any more requests for the time.

"It would've been so good if I had the same response from ladies at the Yule Ball" Harry thought, smiling.

He recalled how he and Ron had to go through a harrowing time asking a girl out for the Yule Ball in his fourth year at Hogwarts. Harry looked around. Everyone was waltzing slowly to the country music, as the lead singer of Bent-Winged Snitches, Alfred Sleepwalker, sung in his melodious voice.

Ron and Hermione were dancing on the dance floor. They gazed into each other's eyes lovingly. A faint smile hinted their faces as they recalled their romantic days at Hogwarts. Neville Longbottom was at the far end, talking and joking with some friends.

"Let's go meet Neville" Harry told Ginny, who was sitting at the table.

"Yeah" Ginny said getting up. Both went to Neville.

"Oh, Harry!" Neville shouted as Harry and Ginny approached him.

He went ahead and hugged Harry.

"Congratulations, buddy" Harry said hugging him back.

"Thank you!" Neville said beaming.

"Ginny" Neville said and hugged her.

"Congratulations 'headmaster'!" Ginny said.

"Oh, thank you! The headmaster at your service, mademoiselle..." Neville said, giving a slight bow.

Everyone chuckled. There were many old friends standing there; Padma Patil, Seamus Finnigan, Luna Lovegood and many more. Almost the entire "Dumbledore's Army" seemed to have been gathered. Harry hugged them all.

"So how does it feel to be the headmaster?" Harry asked Neville.

"I pity Dumbledore NOW" Neville said, and everyone chuckled.

"How is life as an Auror?" Neville asked.

"Can't say you'll survive the day. Already made my will" Harry said.

"Yeah" Neville agreed.

"I saw Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 2 yesterday!" Seamus chimed in.

"Oh nice" Harry said amusedly.

"Yeah, ever since the Ministry put an imperious curse on a muggle woman named J. K. Rowling, and made her write novels on the entire chronicles of our adventures at Hogwarts, it has been a joyride! What's more? Some Hollywood production house made movies on it and they went blockbusters!" Luna said enthusiastically.

"I loved them too" Harry said agreeing.

He really did enjoy watching every single movie in a muggle cinema. (People in the cinema hall kept commenting that he looked like an older Daniel Radcliffe. Who was that guy?)

"So you're not dancing?" Neville asked.

"Oh, I was searching for my childhood date but couldn't find her" Harry said.

"Who?" everyone asked in unison.

"Cho Chang" Harry said, winking at Ginny. Ginny made an angry pout at Harry which made everyone laugh.

"Will you dance with me?" Seamus asked Ginny, holding a hand out for her. Ginny accepted his hand, smiling at Harry.

"Will you dance with me?" a lady's voice came from behind.

Harry turned around to see Astoria Malfoy holding out her hand for him. She had worn a black party dress and matching nail polish.

"Sure" Harry smiled. He took her hand and walked onto the dance floor.

He took her waist and started waltzing with the slow rhythm. Harry noticed that Astoria had maintained her beauty. Her red lipstick and low cut blouse gave her a somewhat voluptuous look.

"You look the same in those glasses" she said.

"Thank you, and you look beautiful" Harry said.

"Thank you" Astoria said.

The singer sang "Every night in my dreams…" It was a romantic muggle song. Astoria wrapped both her arms around Harry's shoulder and kept dancing.

"Uhmm..." Harry coughed uncomfortably and averted his gaze, but Astoria looked directly into his eyes.

Harry knew that Astoria was about to cross a line. He knew that this was the right time to back off from drunken women in order to avoid a war with his wife. And after all, Astoria was married to his colleague Draco Malfoy (who lived in the US for the better part of the year.)

"I think Ginny is calling me" Harry faked a smile, as he gently tried to take his hand off her shoulder.

"Stay" she simply said.

"I am sorry. No" Harry said firmly. He took her hands off and went out of the hall, into the courtyard.

Neville stood at the end of the courtyard, looking down at the valley, sipping his champagne. Harry lit a Cuban cigar and joined Neville. Far across, there was a light in Hagrid's hut. Neville looked at Harry and said nothing. Harry knew something was bothering Neville, but he didn't ask, fearing it might ruin Neville's mood.

"Harry?" Neville finally said.

"Yeah?" Harry said.

"Have you heard from Cho Chang lately?" Neville asked.

"Umm, no. Why?" Harry asked.

Neville didn't say anything.

"Maybe I should tell you" Neville said, gesturing Harry to follow him.

Harry put out his cigar as they entered the other tower of Hogwarts. Their footsteps echoed as they passed through a maze of corridors. Harry looked around as he followed Neville. There were photographs of the winning Quidditch teams of every year on the wall. Harry spotted himself waving in a few of them.

At the end of the corridor was an area which was burnt black. It was cordoned off. Above it was a large photograph of Fred and George Weasley, waving.

Harry remembered how those brothers had wreaked havoc in the OWL exams in his fifth year of Hogwarts. This burnt area was a loving memoir of that incident. They started climbing the staircase and finally reached the headmaster's office.

Neville opened the door for Harry.

"After you" he said.

Harry walked in. Neville looked around for any stalkers and locked the door behind him.

If there was any part of Hogwarts that remained unchanged, it was the headmaster's office. Harry recalled the many adventures he'd had with the headmaster of his time, Albus Dumbledore. While Harry was admiring the vintage look of the office, Neville took out a sleek box. Harry looked at it and recognized it.

It was the "Faraway Talker" machine. This machine would give a three-dimensional holographic projection of the person you're talking with. It had replaced every other communication device among the wizards. It was a modification in the "Webcam" technology of the muggles, or at least, that's what the Daily Prophet said.

Neville opened a pre-recorded message.

"I had tried to contact Cho several times in order to invite her to the reunion" he explained.

"But either I couldn't contact her or she would never reply. Then finally, two weeks ago, I received her call." Neville said.

He pressed the play button and a 3 dimensional form of Cho's face appeared on the surface of the sleek box. She looked older, her face wrinkled. The communication line was weak, so her image kept blurring.

"Hey, Cho! Where are you? I tried reaching out to you a lot of times, but you never replied" Neville's voice said.

"I am not available right now" Cho said.

"Okay, how are..." Neville started to say but Cho cut him.

"Listen, Neville." Cho said looking around as if she was expecting someone to come.

"I can't tell you where I am. Just make sure Harry has the owl" she said and hung up, leaving nothing but a blue trail of light.

Harry and Neville sat in silence for some time.

"Harry has the message? What does that mean? Did she mean that she had sent you an owl with a message?" Neville said.

"I don't know. But I don't think I've received an owl from Cho recently." Harry said dubiously.

"Yeah, even I was surprised by her tone. Her voice seemed to be panicky, almost as if she's afraid of something... or someone." Neville said grimly.

"Do you think she's okay?" Harry asked.

"I hope so." Neville said. They both sat silently for a while, mulling over the cryptic message.

"We need to get back to the party before everyone starts missing us' Neville said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah" Harry said getting up, still pondering about Cho.

The party at the hall was at its peak now. The music had changed from country music to boy band songs. The singer was singing "Live while we're young" (a muggle song from the famous band One Direction). And people were ecstatic!

"Who says muggles and wizards don't get along?" Neville said and Harry chuckled.

The chilling air outside mingled with the moonlight as the final beats of the grand Hogwarts reunion reverberated through the night air...


	6. Chapter 4: The darkness within

3 days before _**The Capture:**_

"Giiiivvveee meeeee Haaaarryyy Poooottteeer" a stone cold voice rasped. "Givvveee meee Haarryy Pootter aannd yyooouuu wiiill beee reeewaaardeed..." the snaky voice said. Harry was in running in the pitch dark, panting, but the voice followed. "Haaaarrry Poootteeer...coommme to dieee..." Harry hit a wall. He could feel the darkness coming towards him. Harry turned around wide-eyed, his heart pumping wildly, he embraced the dark...

Harry jerked awake from his sleep, shocked. He felt himself with his fingers to make sure it was just another nightmare. _Just another nightmare_. Harry's scar had stopped burning long ago, but that voice still haunted him. Those several moments when he was just a second away from getting murdered, those paralysing moments when he could think of nothing else but survival, still lived in the deep recesses of his mind. Harry huddled up in the bed. Beside him, Ginny was fast asleep. The open window was letting the chilling January air inside.

Harry got up and closed the window and went into the hall. He flopped on the sofa, rubbing his eyes. He had spent several nights sitting there, insomniac. The nightmares were more frequent now. He knew he had to do something about it. He knew _exactly_ what he had to do about it.

"But no, this is very wrong" Harry told himself.

"No it isn't, it will give you a sleep you can never imagine" a voice told him inside his head.

A few months ago, Harry had conducted an Auror raid at an illegal wizard party in Downtown Diagon. Harry's raid had yielded some good results, but the most important, or rather an unfortunate one, was finding that white powder. Harry had bagged most of it from the evidence room.

Harry shook his head in disappointment as he gave in. He went to the back of the sofa and pushed it away from the wall. He pointed his wand and said "Revillio". Immediately, the bottom-right corner of the sofa hinged open, revealing a small cavity. Harry looked towards the bedroom to see if Ginny was still asleep. Carefully, took out the small box from the cavity. It was his only solace in this crazy world...

Harry mixed the cocaine powder with water to make a pasty solution. He then dabbed a wet cotton onto the solution. The cotton soaked the soaked the solution like a wet sponge. Harry inserted the syringe into the cotton and pulled it. Pure ecstasy flowed into the injection.

Harry took out his left hand and struck it twice to let the veins bulge from beneath.

"Don't do it, Harry! Don't do it!" A voice said from within. Harry smiled a sad smile and the syringe struck his vein, letting the fresh drug in.

Harry sat there staring into oblivion letting the drug kick in. It felt so good... It was a pleasure he had never experienced in this glamorous, yet mundane life. He felt his senses dulling. He felt like he was the king of the world at the moment. No work, no worries at all...

Harry started feeling dizzy. "Yeah" Harry said as he struggled to get up but he couldn't. With great effort, he managed to get up. This was his world. He had no wife. No children. No dramatic Voldemort. _Just him and himself_. He staggered towards the general direction of the bedroom but bumped against a wall.

"Ow" Harry said rubbing his temple.

Harry was surprised that he managed to reach the bed without any other bumps. He simply crashed on the soft linen sheets. They felt so inviting... The bed felt hollow as a marshmallow... He would sink right through it...

Harry sensed that Ginny was awake.

"Harry, are you okay?" Ginny's voice sounded in the distance.

"Yeah, I aamm fineee" Harry mumbled.

"Gooo tooo sleep" he said, as a pitch black darkness clouded his eyes and he fell asleep.

Harry woke up as a warm sunshine tickled his face. He felt fresh and new. He looked at his side. Ginny was not there.

"Breakfast time" Harry said, lazily pushing off the warm blanket.

He went to the kitchen and saw that Ginny was not there. He went to the other bedroom. Ginny was there already dressed in formals, combing her hair. Her magical suitcase was packing clothes by itself from the wardrobe. She shot Harry a cold, venomous look. Harry gulped. _Does she know?_

"Good morning, baby" Harry said, spreading his arms to hug her. But instead, he got a slap. A cold, hard, slap.

Harry looked at Ginny in disbelief.

"What the...?" Harry said still reeling from the shock.

"I found something" Ginny said showing him the drug box.

Of course, she had found out. Harry had been so lost in himself that he had forgotten to put the box back in its place. Harry hung his head down in shame.

"Listen, Ginny, I..." Harry tried to speak but she pushed him away.

"Stay away from me" Ginny said, her voice breaking into a sob.

"Listen, Harry. Something is troubling you. Outwardly, you are as radiant as ever, but inside, I think there is something eating you up. You need to talk to me about it" she said sobbing and coming closer to Harry.

"It's nothing" Harry said. "I was just feeling a little insomniac, that's it".

"You feel insomniac, so you get high! This thing could ruin you" Ginny said pushing him away.

"Don't you even once think about me, or your children, or anyone you care about?" she said, anger rising in her voice.

"I am sorry" Harry said.

"Sorry does not cut it, Harry Potter!" Ginny shouted.

"You're hardly home, and when you are, you do all these things instead of spending some time with your family. You're so absorbed in your own life that you've completely changed yourself" she said breathing heavily.

Ginny took her packed suitcase and walked out of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Harry asked. "You were so busy getting high, Mr. Harry, that you forgot I have to leave today to cover the opening ceremony of the Miss Witch contest. Honestly, if it wasn't this important, we would be going to a doctor right now" Ginny said.

"But the Miss Witch contest is tomorrow" Harry said following her out into the hall as she went to the fireplace.

"Today is tomorrow. You were out cold for 30 hours" Ginny said as she started the green fire for the Floo network.

"Hey, wait! What? I was sleeping for more than a day?" Harry asked shocked.

"Yes. And I'll come back the day after tomorrow and we are going to the doctor that very day. If you make any excuses, you are dead meat. And yeah, I've taken away all the drugs, and if I get the slightest hint that you're even thinking about them again, I'll hand you to the Ministry myself" Ginny said with a threat in her voice.

"Yeah" Harry said as Ginny started to leave.

"I am really sorry" Harry said as Ginny went into the fire. She looked back. For some unknown reason, Harry wanted to wave at her, but he didn't. Harry could see a tear rolling down her cheek as she disappeared into the green flames. _Little did they know that a lot would've changed by the time they met again..._

Harry simply stood staring at the empty fireplace, his mind racing. How could he have been so selfish? Was Ginny right? Was he hardly the same guy now? Harry returned back to his room. He kicked the CPU of his muggle desktop computer in anger.

He had been such a bad husband and father. He sat on the bed and buried his head in his hands, frustrated. He was a failure. He was lost. The image that the world had about Harry Potter was completely different. There he was 'The Boy who lived'. He was a hero. He was an idol, an example, for people to be brave and courageous. He was the Lead Auror who kicked the crap out of criminals. He was the adroit Quidditch player. But within, he was frozen and hollow.

A "ping" from his computer broke his thoughts. In spite of Ginny's severe denials, Harry had brought this computer into the house. He loved muggles and their technology because practically, he had been raised by them. Even today, he would ocassionally check his emails and his supposedly unknown Facebook account. The computer had started when Harry had kicked the CPU and the notification panel had buzzed. Harry looked at it. There were some e-mail notifications.

Harry slid into the revolving chair and opened his account. There were 8 new emails. Most of them were advertisement mails, but one mail caught Harry's eye.

The sender was cho_chang . Harry's heart skipped a beat.

" _Make sure Harry has the owl_ " Harry recalled the message Neville had shown him a couple of days ago.

" _Make sure Harry has the owl... make sure Harry has the mail...make sure Harry has the e-mail!_ " Harry smiled at Cho's genius trick. Cho too was a muggle-born, so naturally, she was quite acquainted with muggle technology.

Harry clicked on the mail. It opened. There was just one sentence in it. It was:

" **Don't believe anything they say. Go into hiding!** "


	7. Chapter 5: The conspiracy

1 day before: **_The Capture_**

Harry sat in his office at the Ministry, rubbing his eyes. Being the lead Auror was stressful. He had sanctioned some raids at the local pubs in suspicion of illegal activities. The clock showed half an hour for Ginny to arrive.

Harry had planned to spend the entire day with her. He would take her to lunch, he would try to resolve their differences, and then, if she insisted, they would visit a doctor for counseling about his drug addiction. It took sheer willpower for Harry to suppress the urge for doing the drugs again, but he guessed, his family mattered more than getting high.

The door opened letting a fresh input of paper airplane messages. The conventional way of communication via paper planes was still not out of fashion in the Ministry. Four paper airplanes landed neatly on Harry's table. Harry laid them aside. The messages could wait. Right now he had to leave for the Floo Network Junction to pick Ginny up.

The mysterious e-mail from Cho Chang still lingered in Harry's mind. It was as if Cho was playing a cryptic clue game with Harry.

"Why couldn't she directly contact me?" Harry wondered.

He shrugged. He had better things to worry about than cryptic e-mails.

The door to Harry's chamber was about to close when an owl swooped in. Harry looked up from the file he was reading. The owl had a letter in its beak. Harry frowned. The owl communication system was not conventional anymore. The owl fluttered around the office and finally sat down on the table. Harry took the letter out of its beak. He opened the office door. The owl exited the office without waiting for a tip or a pat on its head.

Harry closed the door and went to his table to look at the letter. It was a code – red letter.

Harry had heard about code – red letters but never actually seen them. They were top secret letters used to communicate vital information. He touched the letter. Immediately the letter curled into the shape of lips and said: "Identify yourself please". Harry smiled. Voice recognition technology.

"I am Harry Potter" he said.

"Voice matched" the letter said and the enchanted red wax sealing the letter melted, opening the letter.

The letter was from the Minister of Magic, Aberforth Dumbledore. Harry had had a friendly acquaintance with Aberforth from his seventh year at Hogwarts when Aberforth had saved him from Death Eaters. The letter said:

 _Come to my office. Urgently. Make sure it is off the books._

 _Aberforth Dumbledore,_

 _Minister of Magic._

Harry re-read the letter as the ink disappeared. He cursed. Did Aberforth have to choose this day to hold a top-secret meeting? Ginny was going to kill him if he didn't make it to her in time.

"Well, this better be important" Harry mumbled as he took his wand and focused his mind to apparate at the Minister of Magic's office.

Moments later, Harry arrived in the hallway of the Minister's office. The doors to the office were closed. Harry raised his hand to knock, as he neared the office, but the doors opened by themselves. Harry went inside. The office was cosy. The fireplace crackled, casting a fiery glow inside the dimly lit interior.

On the sidewall, there were posters of all the Ministers of Magic of UK till date. Aberforth sat behind a large mahogany desk. He wore a golden yellow robe. His blue eyes, half-moon spectacles, and his long flowing beard tucked in his belt gave him a striking resemblance to his late brother, Albus Dumbledore.

Across the desk was another person, Harry's good friend, Dean Thomas. He was a senior Auror.

"Minister" Harry said as he shook hands with Aberforth and took his seat. Harry gave a friendly nod to Dean, who nodded back.

Aberforth's grim look said that some serious trouble had come up.

"How can I be of help, sir?" Harry said.

Aberforth cleared his throat and said, "Well, as you know, the wizard community and the muggles have had strong affiliations for a long time".

He paused and continued "The Ministry has had political connections with the muggle government. And I, as the Minister of Magic have the privilege of a direct access to the Prime Minister of United Kingdoms".

"Yes" Harry said.

"So, if you know, the muggle President of the USA is right now, on a visit to the UK" Aberforth said.

"Yes" Harry said agreeing. He had seen the news on the muggle news channel.

"Now, we do not have solid proof, but we know that the muggles all around, have been showing some curiosity in what they call "paranormal occurrences". They have been abducting wizards and witches living in muggle colonies and have been performing experiments on them. Even torturing them" Aberforth said.

"Oh come on, these are just conspiracy theories by Rita Skeeter" Dean said.

"Yet, they have an element of truth in them" Aberforth said.

"Okay?" Harry said, wondering how this was relevant.

Aberforth leaned across the desk and spoke in a low voice. "As you see, the President of the USA and the Prime Minister of the UK rarely come together. So I believed this was the golden time to put up some political discussions with them. So I arranged a meeting with them tomorrow at the Prime Minister's office".

"Mm hmm" Harry mumbled.

"But some insider sources gave us information that instead of political negotiations, these muggles were planning to abduct me, the Minister of Magic" Aberforth said.

There were moments of silence. Harry and Dean were shocked.

"But why would they do something like that?" Harry finally said.

"I don't know" Aberforth simply said.

"What they're doing would simply result in retaliation and chaos" Dean said. "Yes" Aberforth said agreeing.

"Now the problem is that we don't exactly know whether this intel is hundred percent correct or not. I've not even consulted my private advisor or the Council of Ministers, fearing it would spread unnecessary pandemonium. So I've called upon you two" Aberforth said.

"Okay?" Harry and Dean said.

"Now I've known all about the heroics of the two of you. Both of you have maintained your composure in the toughest of situations. So, I need one of you to polyjuice himself as me and go tomorrow to the meeting with the Prime Minister. Any volunteers?" Aberforth asked. Both of them raised their hands.

"The reason I myself am not going there is that if, God forbid, anything goes wrong, there needs to be a commanding officer here to handle the situation. I hope you both understand" Aberforth said.

"Yes sir" both of them said, their hands still raised. Aberforth smiled.

"Good" he said, impressed by their dedication.

"Now Harry, you've had quite some experience with muggles, and from what I've heard, you're quite the muggle techie. So I recommend you to polyjuice as me and be present at the meeting tomorrow. Can you do that for me, son?" Aberforth asked.

"Yes, sir" Harry said.

"Good, now Dean, I need you here, with me to keep a constant tab on Harry when he goes out there tomorrow. And I want you to help me get tactical support in case, the situation goes South. Are you up for it?" Aberforth asked.

"Yes, sir" Dean said.

"Good. Now this operation is strictly off the books. No one, I repeat no one can know about this thing apart from the three of us. Am I making myself clear?" Aberforth asked.

"Yes, sir" both of them said in unison.

"Any questions?" Aberforth asked.

"Well, let's say, that I, as Minister of Magic, were abducted by the muggles. What then?" Harry asked.

"Well, first of all, we will rescue you, of course. Then we'll find out their motives behind trying to kidnap the Minister of magic and then act accordingly. Aberforth said.

"Okay" Harry said.

Harry was still not sure if all this was happening. A couple of hours ago, he was getting prepared for meeting Ginny at the Floo Network Junction. Now, he was knee-deep in some conspiracy by the muggles. Meeting Ginny was out of the question until the operation was over. Aberforth had made that clear.

"Buckle up sons" Aberforth said. "Tomorrow could be a deciding chapter in muggle and wizard relations. It is an honour to be beside brave men like you" Aberforth said.

"Your honour is ours" both said, shaking hands with the Minister of Magic.

Harry looked at the fire crackling in the fireplace. He wondered what the next day had in store for him. Could it really be the start of a muggle and wizard war? Harry shook his head at the thought.

"I guess we'll find out tomorrow" Harry thought as he licked his dry lips...


	8. Chapter 6: The capture redefined

**Author's Note: This is a recreation of Chapter 1:** _ **The Capture**_ **, from the wizard perspective.**

Harry stood facing the mirror in a long golden yellow robe, admiring himself. The risk he was about to take was one of the biggest in his career as an Auror. He was going to meet the Prime Minister of the UK and the President of the USA! Harry was confident that the meeting would go smoothly. Harry knew the muggles. They were harmless creatures who would only retaliate when someone disturbed them.

Harry went out of the room into the hall. Aberforth and Dean were there in the midst of some important discussion. They were at the _Annexe_ , the place where many top-secret meetings of the Ministry took place.

Aberforth looked up from the files at Harry.

"Take a seat, son" Aberforth said.

"Take a seat, son" Harry said, mimicking Aberforth's accent.

"Oh, good! You've done your homework" Aberforth said smiling.

Harry had spent the entire night studying the topics that were to be discussed with the Prime Minister and the President. Above all, mastered Aberforth's accent and mannerism. Harry sat on the couch.

"So are you ready?" Aberforth asked, giving one final look at the file he was reading.

"Yes, sir" Harry said.

"Good, let's get started" Aberforth said getting up. Both Harry and Dean got up and followed him into the kitchen.

The Polyjuice Potion was brewing in a pot. Aberforth plucked a long strand of hair from his head and released it into the pot. He then drained the potion out and handed the mug to Harry.

"There you go" Aberforth said.

Harry took the mug. The potion smelt really bad. Something like red hot rubber mixed with organic waste. Harry gulped down the potion. It tasted even worse. He could feel the hot potion coursing down his throat. He felt sick.

Harry ran towards the restroom. He felt like his stomach would turn upside down. He knew the effects that would follow the consumption of the polyjuice potion. But every time he drank it, he felt the same horrors that he'd first felt when he drunk this concoction in his second year at Hogwarts.

Harry bent to vomit in the faucet. He itched his face but it wasn't helping. He looked into the mirror. A white beard was sprouting on his cheeks! It was getting longer every moment. At the same time, the colour of his eyes were changing from green to blue and his eyebrows were getting bushier and whiter.

Aberforth and Dean waited anxiously for Harry to open the door. The door of the restroom opened and Aberforth's look-alike walked out of it, grinning. Aberforth and Dean smiled as they looked at the polyjuiced Harry.

"How do I look?" Harry asked.

Surprisingly, his voice had become a little deep and croaky. Aberforth came ahead and tapped his wand on Harry's glasses. Immediately the round glasses turned into half-moon spectacles.

"Perfect" Aberforth said smiling and they all went back to the hall.

"Now the potion that you took was not just polyjuice potion" Aberforth said.

"Then?" Harry asked.

"It was _polyjuice maximus_. It will keep you in my form for almost a day, in case something goes wrong..." Aberforth said.

"Okay" Harry said tucking his long beard in the belt.

Dean opened a white chart on the table and handed Harry a pill.

"Take this, Harry" Dean said.

"What's this?" Harry asked.

"You'll see" Dean said with a smile.

Harry gulped down the pill. A few seconds later the chart on the table came to life and showed:

 **MEDICOGRAPH WELCOMES YOU:**

 ** _HARRY POTTER_** _:-_

 _VOICE:_

 _HEART RATE:_

 _PULSE RATE:_

 _BREATHING RATE:_

A few seconds later the heart rate column started showing spiky lines. Harry smiled.

"These graphs show your current biological processes. Aberforth and I will listen to your voice and keep a constant tab on you through this" Dean said.

"Sleek" Harry said, impressed.

Aberforth went into the kitchen again and brought another glass of potion. He stirred it well and said "Take this. It will keep you from any side effects from the polyjuice."

Harry took the glass without giving it much notice. The potion was bitter. _Really bitter_. Finally all was set.

Harry stood before an empty photo frame on the wall. This photo frame and a similar photo frame in the office of the Prime Minister of the UK served as a communication bridge between the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister. The man in the frame would take the messages to and fro. Suddenly out of nowhere, Aberforth came into the frame and said "The Prime Minister of the UK summons you" he said.

"Yes" Harry said.

Giving one last nod to Aberforth and Dean, he focused his mind to apparate at the Prime Minister of the UK's office at 10, Downing Street.

Harry looked at his surroundings. He was in an elegant office. The room had an aura of political dominance. His head was whirring. He hadn't taken drugs for days now. So why was he feeling dizzy?

"Maybe it is the side effect of the polyjuice" Harry thought as he walked towards the two men sitting at the desk in black suits. This was the first time he was seeing the President of the United States in person.

"I am Aberforth Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic of the Wizard community of the United Kingdom. It's an honour to meet you, Mr. President" Harry said in a deep authorative tone.

The President of the USA looked really shocked.

"How...how did you come here?" the President managed to choke.

"Oh" Harry said. "Just a parlour trick" he winked.

"Mr Prime Minister" he said and shook his hands with the Prime Minister.

Harry's head was throbbing. "Control...control!" Harry said to himself. He was sure the meeting would go smoothly, but he needed his full focus over there.

"Please have a seat" the Prime Minister said and Harry sat.

"Without any further ado, we should get to work" Harry said and waved his wand.

A pile of files appeared on the desk. Harry took out the top one and studied it.

"As you see, Mr President, the colonies of wizards and witches in the UK as well as the USA are expanding. Consequently, our rooms and resources are depleting at an alarming rate" Harry said and paused for a while to let it settle down on the President.

Unknown to Harry, the Prime Minister pressed a button on his watch.

"So, as a peaceful..." Harry's voice was cut in between with the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching.

Suddenly the office door opened with a bang. It was the British Special Forces.

"On your knees! Hands where we can see them" they shouted pointing their M4 Automatics towards Harry.

Immediately Harry's combat instincts stirred. His first thought was to apparate back to safety. But then a thought of despair jabbed him. _So, the muggles DID plan to kidnap the Minister of Magic._ All his confidence, trust, even sympathy, for the muggles had dissolved. He wanted answers. _Personally._ So he resolved to face it.

Harry looked at the Prime Minister with a smirk and said "I expected a better welcome"

With that Harry got up. With lightning speed, he waved his wand and a wall of fire appeared between him and the Special Forces Team. Everything slowed down... Multiple red sparks shot out of his wand like bullets and the next moment, the fire disappeared. All the 8 Special Forces' elites were lying on the ground, stupefied.

Harry then turned towards the Prime Minister, his eyes bloodshot. The Prime Minister gulped. Harry's head was exploding with pain. His hands were getting numb. The polyjuice maximus was giving a drastic side effect, but Harry wanted his answers.

"Explain" he growled menacingly, getting dangerously close to the Prime Minister.

Suddenly the Prime Minister took something out of his suit. With a swift movement, he connected it with Harry's chest. A ripple of pain shot through Harry. His senses gave way to the numbing pain, and he slumped back, lifeless.

"The wizards are dangerous. That's the simple reason." The Prime Minister said, putting the stun gun back into his suit. He kicked the wand out of Harry's loose hands.

More Special Forces' men entered and handcuffed the lifeless Minister of Magic. The President and Prime Minister were escorted to safety.

Back at the Annexe, Aberforth and Dean were listening to Harry's voice. Everything was going well until suddenly they heard heavy footsteps. A few seconds later Harry said, "Explain". There was wrath in his voice. And then nothing. Just static.

Harry's heart rate graph suddenly started plummeting drastically and then, left a straight line and a constant "Bleeeeep" tone indicating the person was dead.

Dean's jaw dropped open in shock.

"Harr...Harry Potter just died" he stammered.

Dean couldn't believe what was happening.

"Harry Potter just died" he said again his eyes looking fixedly at the chart where Harry's heart rate, breathing rate, pulse rate, all showed a static zero.

"I'm calling for backup reinforcements" Dean said, getting up.

"Wait for my order" Aberforth said, his voice perfectly calm.

Dean looked at Aberforth with surprise.

"Orders? Harry Potter just died! What are you waiting for? We need backup NOW!" Dean said and started walking again.

"Expelliarmus!" Aberforth said and the wand flew away out of Dean's hands.

"What the hell?" Dean said, shocked. He turned back. The Minister of Magic had just disarmed him! What was going on?

"You see son, Harry had to die" Aberforth said.

"What?" Dean asked, stumped.

"The potion that I gave to Harry after he took the tablet, the bitter potion, it was not meant to prevent side effects. It was Basilisk saliva. Deadly poison" Aberforth said flashing an evil smile.

"Wh... Why?" Cadillio asked, slightly shivering from shock.

"Why? Because for centuries, wizards have lived in fear from the muggles. It is time to finish it once and for all. How will the magical community react when they find that The Boy Who Lived, their saviour, was brutally killed by the muggles? They will become bloodthirsty. I needed that momentum to stir the wizards. We will dominate the muggles once and for all" Aberforth said looking into oblivion, grinning a wicked smile.

Dean was shell-shocked. He had never seen such a side of Aberforth.

"And I am really sorry, but I can leave no witnesses of this event" Aberforth said looking at Dean.

"Hey wait, wh...?" Dean managed to say but Aberforth cut him in between.

"Avada Kedavra!" Aberforth shouted.

A green jet of sparks shot through his wand and hit Dean in the chest. Dean was thrown back. He slumped down dead. The shocked look still lingered on his face.

"You and Harry have made a valuable sacrifice. It will not be forgotten, son" Aberforth said closing Dean Thomas' eyes.

Aberforth took up the medi-chart which now showed:

 _ **HARRY POTTER: DEAD**_

Aberforth smiled. He tapped the chart with his wand and set it aflame to discard the remnants of any evidence. The key pawn was out of the game. The war was on...

 **Author's Note: So, friends! What did you think about the story until now? Should I continue it? Did you want it to go a different way? Please leave a feedback to let me know**


	9. Chapter 7: The Gringotts heist (part 1)

A day ago, when Harry was still alive and sitting in his Ministry of Magic's office, about to go and pick up Ginny at the Floo Network Junction, a pair of steely eyes watched each of his movements on a mobile screen from a rooftop, not far from the Ministry. Little did Harry know that there was a hidden camera in his office, and each of his movements was being tracked by a sinister figure.

The figure sat perched on the nearby rooftop, his eyes glued to the mobile screen. The figure's face was covered with a scarf, save his eyes. His complete focus was on that one person sitting in his office. A few moments later an owl swooped inside Harry's office and dropped a parcel. The hooded man zoomed his phone. He could clearly see the contents of the parcel, thanks to the high-definition camera. The parcel contained a code-red letter. A few moments later, the owl flew out of the office.

Mal'akh put down the phone for a moment. It was time to contact his mistress. He took a deep breath and called the revered. It was too risky to communicate through telepathy or the Faraway Talker machine so he had to resort to muggle means of communication. His mistress' face appeared. He felt a slight flush which he knew he shouldn't feel.

"The subject has fallen for the enemy's bait" he said, his voice, a hoarse whisper.

"Alright. You know what to do" his mistress said.

Her voice sounded sweet and ringing even through the phone. Mal'akh nodded.

"Tell Dastan to fetch the elixir if you are through with your job" she said. Mal'akh nodded again.

"May the almighty _Horus_ always be with you" she said and the call ended.

Mal'akh touched the phone to his eyes in respect. He looked at the bag on the ground and opened it. Inside were some clothes suited for a rich business tycoon. Beneath them were a couple of wigs and wax masks. Mal'akh took out a wax mask and felt it with his fingers. He smiled at the perfection of its making. It was complete in every detail. It was time to take back something that was rightfully theirs...

Ronald and George Weasley walked in through the front door of the Gringotts Investment and Stock Exchange Bank. Ron was 38 now, with flecks of white inside his red hair. After a failed career as an Auror, he had joined his brother George's company and had taken it to new heights. The "Weasley Wizard Wheezes" soon transformed to "The Weasley Magical Products", a multinational conglomerate specializing in magical products ranging from "Quickly Bunk your class" pills to "Seduction potions".

Ron's still-juvenile-behaviour sometimes annoyed Hermione and she believed he had a major role in spoiling their kids, Hugo and Rose.

George on the other hand was 40, his long red hair still intact. He had felt devastated when he lost his brother Fred twenty years ago. He had spent weeks locked up in his room. But time had gradually healed him (and his ear too) and he had married Angelina Johnson with whom he had two kids, Fred and Roxanne, and he was almost back to his radiant self. Almost.

Managing the accounts of such a huge company proved to be tedious sometimes, their visits to Gringotts were quite frequent. The duo walked in through the exquisite entrance of the bank.

The front door of Gringotts bank was entirely made up of bronze. The bank had transformed quite a lot lately. The huge dome was fully made up of pearly-white glass, casting a bright light on the inside. A screen on the far end of the hall said "WELCOME TO GRINGOTTS" and displayed its motto below _"Fortius Quo Fidelius"_ (strength through loyalty). On the other side of the hall was a screen displaying the current rates of all magical stocks and shares.

There were two big pots full of gold coins at the opposite corners of the big hall. These pots would send jets of waters in rainbow colours up to the dome. The water would travel in a huge arc to the opposite pot and get absorbed. Thus, to someone coming in from the front door it would literally look like the hall was enveloped in a rainbow with two pots of gold at its ends.

Due to a large number of private magical banks opening across UK, Gringotts had to change their business strategy. The goblins were now shifted to the account section only and there were attractive lady receptionists in the hall for better interaction with customers. Ron and George went to a sexy receptionist. She was donned in full professional makeup and a white formal dress.

"Good afternoon sir, welcome to Gringotts. My name is Tina. How may I help you?" the receptionist said.

"We need to open the Weasley Magical Products locker" Ron said.

Tina put her best smile. She was interacting with two VIPs.

"Yes, sure sir." Tina said.

Tina always seemed to have a crush on the war heroes. And two of them were standing right in front of her.

"I'll call Mr Plumheart" she said hoping her blush didn't show through her face.

A brief call later, she got up and said "This way sir" and led them through an entrance.

A goblin came out an adjoining office with a master key. He had freckles running all over his face, and a pair of glasses that were carefully balanced at the tip of his nose.

"Good afternoon sir" Mr Plumheart said.

He took out his wand and said "Polyjuice hexia".

Two green orbs shot out of the wand and touched Ron and George and disappeared into the air. If Ron and George had been someone else who had polyjuiced themselves, the orbs would have turned red, but they stayed green as they vanished into the air.

"Good. Let's go to the train" a satisfied Mr Plumheart said and led their way.

Tina followed them. She couldn't help looking at the two brothers now and again. She had seen them on the front page of Daily Prophet and on the magi-TV quite a lot, but today they looked different. Their eyes had a steel cold expression and they hardly talked. She had heard that Ron had become a little obese but these two were buffed up with biceps. She wondered how the women at their company kept away from this distraction.

They arrived at the train stand. Tina wasn't allowed to go any further than that so she turned around giving one last look to the two famous brothers.

The train stand was Gringotts own innovation. The cheap "roller coaster" carts didn't exactly agree with the full stomachs of the customers, so they had now been replaced by a sleek bullet train. The train would drop the customer at his or her locker. It was a fast and comfortable way for transportation for a large number of customers. The trio entered the train and took their seats.

People looked at the famous brothers and smiled. Now and then people would get on and off the train with their guiding goblin.

Finally the speaker said "Ronald and George Weasley" and Ron and George got off the train on to their personal platform with Mr Plumheart.

The bullet train whizzed away into the darkness. Ron looked around. There were platforms for every customer at equal distances. Beyond the platform, infinite cobwebs of rail-tracks extended into the darkness.

"This way sir" Mr Plumheart said guiding them through the doorway.

Ron nodded at George as a GO signal and took out a syringe from his pocket and injected the sedative beneath the goblin's neck.

"Aw" Mr Plumheart squeaked but in moments he was standing there, an oblivious look on his face.

The sedative they had injected would keep the goblin's subconscious mind active but he would never know what was happening. The muggle Crime Branch Cops often used this drug to take out vital information from a criminal.

Ron could have easily put an imperious curse on the goblin but the Gringotts bank had been made "Imperio proof". If anyone casted an imperious curse inside the bank, the person would immediately be detected by the surveillance team.

"Take us to Ronald Weasley's personal locker" George said.

The goblin nodded and George and Ron linked their hands with the goblin and apparated to another platform. _This is it._ Ron and George hurried to the locker door, dragging Mr Plumheart with them. They fitted the master key inside the locker door. The locker swung open before them.

Both of them entered inside. They had little time before Mr Plumheart recovered from the drug's effect. Unlike humans, goblins had a very short recovery span.

On the inside, there were stacks of golden Galleons and muggle pounds and dollars, but they were not looking for money. At the far corner was a small safe. Could it be what they were looking for? They made their way to the safe. It was a muggle electronic safe. _This was it_. They tugged at its door but it did not budge.

Then the screen of the safe came to life and said "Enter your fingerprint".

George took out the small plastic package from his pocket. With utmost care he ripped off the transparent sticker bearing Ron's fingerprints on it. He stuck the sticker on the screen and the screen said "Fingerprint matched". The safe was unlocked.

Inside it was the prized relic. Ron took it out with shaking hands and held it before himself. The red Deluminator glinted in the dark. The exquisite designs on it looked elegant. Ron and George took of their wig and wax masks.

"Damn you disguises" Mal'akh muttered.

Mal'akh and Dastan touched the Deluminator and held it to their eyes in reverence. They were the privileged ones of the holy order to have the honour of seeing this relic and hold it with their own hands.

Handed by Albus Dumbledore to Ron Weasley in his will, the Deluminator was in Ron's procession until now. How Albus got it was a long story. But the Deluminator had a far bigger role to play than to simply lie in a bank safe. Someone was going to need it...

Mal'akh put a sign of their holy order, made up of pure gold, into the safe, to signify their holy order. Both came out of the locker and locked it. Mr Plumheart was still under the sedative's effect. They wore their disguises of Ron and George again.

"Take us back to the Weasley Magical Products locker" Mal'akh said to the goblin, wearing the wig and the mask back.

They apparated back to the locker.

"Locomotor Mortis" Dastan said pointing his wand at the goblin. Immediately the goblin's body went rigid.

They tied and gagged the goblin and put him near the locker's door. The bullet train whisked to a stop at their platform and Mal'akh and Dastan boarded it.

The Deluminator felt heavy in Mal'akh's black Armani suit. For the first time in a long time, Mal'akh smiled. It was astonishing what simple muggle tricks like wax masks and voice changing pills did that polyjuice potion and Imperious curse couldn't.

Gringotts Investment and Stock Exchange Bank had just been robbed…


	10. Chapter 8: The Gringotts heist (part 2)

Ginny stood at the Floo Network Junction, watching the buzz of people, searching for Harry. She was visibly fuming. It had been past an hour since the time she had arrived and Harry had not yet turned up. He had a lot of explaining to do when she met him. Had the argument a few days ago between her and Harry have no effect on him? Had he gone back to the drugs?

"Hell no way" Ginny said to herself, but her own voice sounded doubtful.

She wanted to go home and rest, but she was totally out of money. Giving one last look to the people around, she made her way back into the Floo Network Junction to make a quick visit to the Gringotts bank.

Tina sat behind her desk at the reception of Gringotts, chewing her apple-flavoured chewing gum, getting bored. Her Talker machine's light went red and she picked up the call.

"Gringotts Investment and Stock Exchange Bank. My name is Tina. How may I help you?" she said in a sing-song manner.

"Hey, I am Ron Weasley, Director of Weasley Magical Products" the caller said.

Tina frowned. She herself had co-ordinated Ron and his brother George with Mr Plumheart some minutes ago. Then who was this person on the call? Maybe an imposter?

"Yes sir, how may I help you?" Tina said, playing along.

"Well, I just got a message saying "Thank you for visiting Gringotts and performing transactions in your locker" but I haven't done any transaction today! Honestly, if this is a way of advertising your bank, I guess it is a pretty dumb way" Ron said angrily.

To maintain good customer relations, Gringotts would send a "Thank you" message to anyone who had performed a transaction in their locker... a business trick they had learnt from muggle banks.

Tina was perplexed. First of all, how did this caller know that Ron and George were here, in Gringotts?

"Let me check sir" Tina said opening the locker transactions menu on her Gringotts log book.

There _was_ a locker transaction in Ronald Weasley's personal locker some minutes ago! What more puzzled Tina was that Ron and George were here to open their "Weasley Magical Products" locker, so how did Ron open his personal locker?

"Well, sir, there _is_ a transaction in your locker some minutes ago" Tina said.

There was silence for a couple of moments at the other end, and then Ron said "You're kidding me, right? Get me to your boss".

Tina was annoyed now. She was done playing along. "I'm sorry sir; he is unavailable at the moment. By the way, bad timing for a prank call because Ron and George Weasley are here at the moment" Tina said cutting off the call.

As Tina cut off the call, a woman entered through the front door. Tina recognised her. She was Ginny Potter. She walked up to another receptionist and started talking to her.

"The entire VIP family needs to be here at once?" Tina wondered.

The bullet train slid to a stop at the base platform and Mal'akh and Dastan got off with several others to exit the bank. As they neared the exit, Mal'akh's eyes met a woman's.

"Oh no..." Mal'akh whispered, sensing trouble.

"Ron? George?" Ginny said surprised, as she saw the duo.

The exit was just a few feet away. Mal'akh thought about making a break for it but he wanted everything to go smoothly, so he didn't. He signalled Dastan, not to, either. He knew the woman approaching them. She was Ginny Potter, sister of the subjects they had disguised themselves as.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked.

"Oh nothing. Just some transactions" Mal'akh said casually.

Ginny knew something was wrong. She knew her brothers very well and she sensed something fishy. Their expressions were different... Even their voices sounded... Huskier.

"Is everything okay?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, we're good. See ya later" Dastan said and they started walking towards the exit, leaving Ginny gaping at them.

But suddenly, the alarms started blaring. Jail-like grills fell in from above the door, sealing the entrance. Mal'akh and Dastan ran towards the exit door but thick iron bars sealed the exit.

"Damn" Mal'akh cursed.

"THHHIIEEEVVEEESSS!" Mr Plumheart screamed, running towards them, throwing off the rope that entangled him. He took his wand out.

All the people looked aghast at the sudden change of events in the usually quiet and orderly bank.

"Thieves! Hands in the air! Don't try anything foolish!" Mr Plumheart said cautiously inching towards the duo.

A team of private security company Aurors entered through the side doors. Mal'akh and Dastan looked at each other and slowly raised their hands.

"So what were you thinking while putting a curse on me, huh? Goblins recover quickly" Mr Plumheart said approaching Mal'akh and Dastan.

But suddenly Ginny interrupted and said "What is all this nonsense? These two are my brothers Ron and George, owners of the Weasley Magical Products. You're making a mistake. Please calm down. We can talk about it."

"They are thieves" Mr Plumheart said eyeing Mal'akh and Dastan.

Four Aurors came forward.

"We need to search you thoroughly, sir" an Auror said, inching closer.

Dastan nodded, hands still in the air.

The four Aurors cautiously inched towards Mal'akh and Dastan, wands ready. An Auror started frisking Mal'akh. Suddenly, Mal'akh grabbed the Auror by the neck with one hand and snatched his wand with the other. A red jet of spark emerged from the wand and the two Aurors standing behind him, flung back, stupefied.

Dastan pushed Ginny out of the way and punched the Auror in front of him squarely in the face. He gave a chop to the midriff and a vicious kick to the kneecap. The Auror shouted in pain as he buckled. A final punch on the face rendered the Auror unconscious.

Mal'akh was still holding an Auror in the air by his neck with one hand. The Auror was weakly flailing hands in a futile attempt to stop Mal'akh from choking him. With one jerk, Mal'akh threw the Auror back. The Auror fell head-on and slumped down, unconscious.

Both Mal'akh and Dastan approached Mr Plumheart. The goblin gasped in terror, dropping his wand, raising his hands in submission. Dastan picked him up by the neck and gave him a venomous look. He slid out a sharp blade from beneath his palm and held it at the goblin's neck. He raised the blade to slit the goblin's throat but Mal'akh stopped him.

"No." Mal'akh said.

Dastan hit the goblin with his own head and the goblin slumped, unconscious.

More troops of Aurors rushed in through the side doors. Dastan and Mal'akh drew out their own wands and posed into a defensive posture. Mal'akh scanned the surroundings for a chance of escape. There was none. The only way was to retreat back to the train station and buy some time. The door to the station was almost twenty feet away. Could they make a break for it?

"Retreat to the station. Shields up" Mal'akh said to Dastan.

With military precision, both raised their wands to form a shield. A concave shield of silver enveloped their sides as they ran back towards the station door. Lethal sparks flew at them from all sides as the Aurors open fired with their wands, but the shield withstood the onslaught. They jumped onto the platform.

All the Aurors rushed towards the platform except a couple of them, who stayed behind to give the "Everybody stay calm, we have it under control" speech. Ginny got up from the ground, still shaken from the violent push her brother had given her. Okay, they were not her brothers, she was sure of that now. These men were someone else in her brothers' disguise and she needed to find out _who they were_. She started to walk towards the platform, determined.

"Ma'am, you've got to stay here." an Auror said stopping her.

She took out her Daily Prophet ID from her purse and said "Reporter. You can't stop the media."

Before the Auror had time to think, she made her way to the platform.

Mal'akh and Dastan ran. Now that their cover had been blown, they took off their suits and formals and revealed what they wore inside; their true identity. They wore skin-tight black robes with a bright silver symbol on their chest, revealing their cult's sign. Mal'akh put the Deluminator safely in his robes' pocket and pulled off his wax mask and wig. He scanned for the bullet train as he covered his head with a hood. The train was almost fifty feet below, spiralling upwards at great speed.

Aurors came onto the platform from both sides. They smiled as they saw the hooded figures sandwiched in the middle of the platform. They rushed towards them. Mal'akh and Dastan looked at one another. With an approving nod, they started running towards the group rushing from the left side. The Aurors fired red sparks in unison and everything slowed down... Just as they fired the lethal spells, Mal'akh and Dastan ducked. The sparks missed their body by inches and hit the group rushing onto them from behind. There were shouts of surprise and shock as the Aurors stupefied their own team members.

With a forced leap, the duo jumped off the edge of the platform, into the valley of tracks below. The Aurors guessed that the maniac hooded figures had committed suicide. Mal'akh and Dastan braced for the impact as they plummeted downwards. If their calculations were correct, they would directly land on the bullet train, some twenty feet below the platform.

They landed on the bullet train with a loud "thud", rolling precariously on its roof owing to the high speed of the train. Their muscles screamed in pain as they caught hold of the edges of a coach. The wind screamed into their ears.

The people inside the train had no idea what was going on outside. They looked with surprise at each other at the loud 'bang' and the depressions forming on the roof of the train. There were shocking "Whoas" and "What the hells!" among them.

The lead Auror shouted "To the bridge!" and the Aurors ran towards the ladders connecting to the bridge.

There were small maintenance bridges connecting the tracks at many points. They Auror quickly climbed down to the bridge. Ginny followed the Aurors.

"Ma'am sorry, but you're not allowed here" an Auror said.

Ginny showed her ID again and said "Reporter".

"Alright" the Auror said indecisively. "Stay with us, wand out." Ginny nodded. It was surprising what level of clearance a little fame and a job ID could give!

Ginny got down from the ladder onto the bridge. She could see the infinite cobweb of tracks extending in the dark valley below. The Aurors positioned themselves, their wands out, focusing on the oncoming train. The bullet train circled around and headed directly for the straight path below the bridge. Ginny's heart skipped a beat as she saw that the two figures now were no longer her brothers, but men in hooded cloaks.

"Dumbasses" the lead Auror said smirking.

The two figures were sitting ducks when they came in the range of the Auror's wands.

Every Auror's fist clenched around their wands as the train neared the bridge.

Mal'akh and Dastan held on tightly to the edge of the coach with one hand, and their wands with the other hand. They positioned themselves in a bracing posture as they neared the bridge. The Aurors were waiting to kill them. _But not so fast._

Just before they came into the range of their wands, Mal'akh and Dastan fired sparks from their wands onto the tracks. A slab of tracks ahead of them melted, leaving nothing but air in between. The Aurors gasped at the sight of the bullet train rushing towards the broken tracks at two hundred miles an hour.

"Aaaah!" Ginny screamed at the horrible act these men had just committed.

They were about to kill everyone on the train along with themselves! Who were these men? Why were they so desperate to escape, that they would choose death instead of getting captured? And moreover, what were they doing in her brothers' disguise?

She felt as if her eyes met with one of theirs. They looked like slits of black. She swore she could see evil in them. She shuddered and looked away, her hands white with numbness...


	11. Chapter 9: The Gringotts heist (part 3)

Ron sat in the CEO's office, his brow creased in a frown at the call that had just ended. He had called Gringotts just to crosscheck that the message on his talker machine about a transaction in his locker was a futile advertisement. But much to his shock, the woman on the other end had said that his locker _had_ been opened. What more intrigued him was that the woman had cut off the call saying that it was a nice try for a prank call but "Ron and George are already here."

Was she serious? Was this some kind of a poor joke? He tried calling the bank again but his call line had been blocked, which was what corporate places usually did to hold prank callers at bay. Being the CEO of a multinational company, Ron hardly had time for such crap. Normally, he would've sent his secretary to do a quick run-up at the Gringotts, but something about this sounded sinister.

"Fine. I'll go check it out myself" Ron said to himself, getting up from his cushioned chair and heading to the fireplace in his office.

Wind screamed in Mal'akh's and Dastan's faces, as they tightly held one hand on the edge of the coach of the bullet train. With the other hand, they held their wands, positioning themselves in a bracing posture as they neared the bridge. The Aurors on the bridge were waiting for them. _But not so fast._

Just before they came into the range of the Aurors' wands, Mal'akh and Dastan fired sparks from their wands onto the tracks ahead. A slab of tracks ahead melted, leaving nothing but air in between.

"My God" the lead Auror said as the bullet train hurtled towards the broken tracks at two hundred miles an hour. A shocked gasp escaped Ginny's throat as she saw what was happening.

The train rushed ahead. The tracks cringed and foundation bolts flew as the train passed over the broken tracks. The entire bullet train plummeted down into the unknown void below. Finally, the tracks buckled under the momentum of the train. People inside the train were thrown out of their seats, banging onto the seats ahead of them as the train free fell into a wide arc.

"Magneto inducto!" Dastan and Mal'akh shouted in unison and their wands shot out golden-coloured rays. The rays hit the rocky sidewalls and formed a cobweb of a strong electromagnetic field. The train sliced through the field, but since it was metallic, it slowed down. The train's body cringed under the effect of the strong magnetic field and finally stood still vertically, caught in a cobweb of golden magnetic rays, a hundred feet from above.

People inside the train screamed in terror at the sudden impact. The dark dungeons below looked frighteningly unknown now. Mal'akh and Dastan swung dangerously from the edge of the coach, balancing their legs on a window sill of the vertically hanging train.

Suddenly, Mal'akh lost his footing.

"Damn" he cursed and his legs cut the air but Dastan caught hold of his wand.

Mal'akh swung precariously in the air, tightly holding his wand, hanging on for dear life. The dark dungeons seemed to be inviting him. His hands were sweaty.

"No… No...!" Mal'akh cried as his grip started slipping due to his sweaty hand.

Finally, his sweaty hands gave way and he fell down into the unknown void. Dastan looked at the falling form of Mal'akh, and without a second's hesitation, dived in after him.

It was a blurring vision of light and dark as they plummeted down through the passageways of various platforms. Dastan finally caught hold of Mal'akh's waist.

"Arresto momentum" Dastan managed to speak and their free-fall jerked to a stop. Their breaths fanned their faces, signifying that they were inches away from the ground.

Both got up, sweeping the dust off their robes. They had reached the pit of Gringotts...the infamous Gringotts dungeons. Any way of escape now was impossible. The dungeon was cold and dark. Suddenly, Dastan felt a current of warm air.

"Lumos" he said and his wand's tip lit up.

"Shit..." words escaped Dastan's mouth as he saw the enormous body of a dragon.

It was a Norwegian Ridgeback, one of the most lethal species of dragon. It looked like the dragon was in a deep slumber.

Mal'akh started backing up, signalling Dastan to do the same.

"What are we going to do now?" Dastan asked with a hint of panic in his voice.

Mal'akh signalled Dastan to stay quiet and kept backing away. During his rigorous training days, the sport at which Mal'akh had excelled better than any person of his holy order was dragon taming. If he had learnt anything from his training days, it was to keep a safe distance from a dragon in order to stay alive. But as they backed up, keeping the lightened wand ahead of them, Dastan stumbled onto a stone and fell down heavily.

"Shit" Dastan muttered.

Now, the dragon's breathing got ragged and its massive eyelids fluttered open. The flooding light from the wand bathed its eyes as it saw the two figures. An immediate growl of anger escaped its nostrils. It suddenly got up and gave a huge "ROOOOAAARR".

"Run for cover!" Mal'akh shouted and they ran backwards, evading all cautiousness now.

They spotted a huge boulder and made a leap for it just when the dragon spat a huge ball of fire.

The dragon's nostrils relentlessly spewed fire. Mal'akh and Dastan could feel the searing heat as they kept their backs to the boulder. Fortunately, the dragon was bound by thick chains, so it couldn't come ahead. But it would be moments before the boulder would melt, revealing Mal'akh and Dastan's bare backs to the dragon's merciless fire. _They had to do something_.

Before they had any time to react, another growl came from their right. Mal'akh and Dastan looked in that direction. In the light of the erupting flames, they could see the enormous body of a Hungarian Horntail waking up. This was the largest and the most deadly dragon species known to man. It snaked up, and when it rose to its full height, it stood almost five storeys tall.

Mal'akh and Dastan looked at the second dragon, gaping in shock. In spite of laughing in the face of death quite many times, they had never faced anything like this. If the Hungarian Horntail spat fire, they would immediately be burnt sausages. Their backs were now starting to burn as the boulder was giving way to the blazing fire of the Norwegian Ridgeback.

Then Dastan came up with an idea.

Just when the Hungarian Horntail was about to flare up, Dastan shouted "Conjunctivitis!"

Sparks hit the dragon's eyes and it fell back, howling in pain, delaying its flaring.

"Quick" Dastan said getting up from behind the boulder and heading to take cover behind the Hungarian Horntail's rear. Mal'akh instinctively followed. Dastan raised his hand once again, this time towards the Norwegian Ridgeback.

"What're you doing?" Mal'akh said. "No! Wait!" he shouted but it was too late.

"Conjunctivitis" Dastan shouted and a jet of sparks hit the Norwegian Ridgeback's eyes and the second dragon sunk back, howling in pain.

 _But not for long_. The dragons roared in pain and started spitting fire in random directions, sealing all possible ways to escape. Mal'akh sighed. Any remnant chances of escape had just been cut off.

" _Horus_ will save us. _Horus_ will save us" Mal'akh tried to reassure himself.

They could not afford to die now. Not after going through all this ordeal.

Suddenly, Mal'akh had the craziest idea ever. During his dragon training days, he'd heard that dragons were emotionally vulnerable when in pain. That they would respond to the right kind of music. Dragon masters often trained dragons for weeks after finally teaching them to expect pain when they heard a fiddle. It was a myth however to expect such response from wild dragons like the Hungarian Horntail or the Norwegian Ridgeback. He was about to check whether that myth was true or not!

Mal'akh looked around. He saw two almost rectangular slabs of stones. _Perfect_. He was going to perform a weird transfiguration charm and he hoped it would work. He focused his mind and said "Transfiguro".

Sparks hit the stone slabs. Mal'akh and Dastan looked at the slabs. Nothing happened at first. But then, the slabs transfigured into two sleek Sony SRS X-5 portable music speakers.

"Yeah!" Mal'akh said in a victorious tone as he picked up the speakers.

"What?!" Dastan gasped in shock.

 _What was Mal'akh doing?_ Mal'akh carefully levitated the speakers in the air and settled one beneath each of the dragon's bodies, well out of the reach of fire. The dragons' anger had not yet subsided and they spewed fire everywhere like two flamethrowers gone berserk.

Mal'akh took out his cell phone and connected it with the two speakers.

"Alright, here goes..." Mal'akh said choosing the first song and touching the play button. It was " _Clair De Lune_ " by Debussy.

It was a peaceful piano piece. The sound of soft piano keys echoed through the dungeon and reached the dragons' ears. Mal'akh could see the intensity of the fire gradually subsiding.

Both the dragons cocked their heads towards the beautiful sound. What was it? They had never heard anything like this before. It sounded so peaceful... so serene.

The song ended and Mal'akh started Taylor Swift's " _Breathe_ " (much strange of a choice, yet one which sufficed all the dragon's emotions). The dragons heard the sweet voice and stopped their fire-spitting spree. They settled down on their hinds, listening to the sound.

It gave them a strange emotion. It reminded them of the freedom they once had. The freedom of breathing fresh air, the freedom of spreading their wings and flying above the clouds. They still were blind by the conjunctivitis curse but they didn't mind it. They just wanted to listen to the music.

Mal'akh saw his chance and got up.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Dastan whispered frantically.

"Stay here" Mal'akh said as he stealthily made his way between the two dragons. He would be a burnt sheesh kebab if any of the dragons woke up from their trance, but it was a "make it or break it" situation and Mal'akh was willing to risk it.

Mal'akh switched the song to Enigma's " _Sadness_ " and the sad beats reverberated through the dungeon. Mal'akh took out his wand and let out a violet sphere of light from its tip. He suspended the ball of light between the dragons. Hopefully, it had to be the first thing which the dragons would see when their conjunctivitis curse cleared.

The dragons wondered what these sounds were. They felt their hearts resonating with the sad opera. The sound was a personification of their emotions. The dragons' eyes started clearing, but wait! There was a light. It looked so calm, so peaceful, yet so sad. Was it this light that the beautiful sound was emanating from?

Mal'akh started levitating the ball gently along with the rhythm. The choir voices sounded creepily saddening in the cold dungeon. The dragons moved their head slightly from side to side along with the passive sphere of light. They did not want to lose it. It was as if their very life depended upon the music coming from it.

Finally, the dragons could take it no more and emotions flushed out of their hearts. The Norwegian Ridgeback let out a cry. It was a cry of despair, woven out of emotions. Mal'akh could make out the golden tears trickling out of its eyes.

Then the Hungarian Horntail couldn't take it anymore and it broke in too, like a sack of iron, sank down. It let out a howl and cried golden tears of despair.

It was the rarest of the rarest moments to see a dragon cry. For generations, dragon masters would wait to see one cry and Mal'akh had just made two of the most dangerous species cry. _Horus_ was with them.

Finally, the dragons sat down, their faces on the ground, their paws on their nostrils. It was a sign of submission. If anyone rode them now, they were theirs for the taking. Mal'akh signalled Dastan to come out and head for the Norwegian Ridgeback. Mal'akh himself climbed on the Hungarian Horntail while Dastan climbed, a little clumsily, on the Norwegian Ridgeback. With one shot from their wands, they cut off the chains that bound the dragons from freedom. The same chains would now serve as reins. They swung the chains around the dragons' necks.

Mal'akh and Dastan smiled at nodded at each other. _They were finally leaving..._

Ron hurried to the entrance of Gringotts bank. There were four Aurors standing at the entrance.

"Four Aurors at the entrance? Sure enough, Gringotts had buffed up their security" Ron wondered.

The Aurors' expression changed completely when they saw Ron. All of them rushed at him at once and pinned him down.

"Hey! Whaa..." Ron tried to say, but his voice was muffled.

He was dragged inside, his priceless suit all dusty. As they entered inside, the people started murmuring loudly.

Mr Plumheart rushed out of a corner and squealed "You!"

"What do you mean? I am Ronald Weasley, CEO of Weasley Magical Products" Ron said, his temper rising badly.

A couple of other goblins came racing behind Mr Plumheart and they all studied Ron closely.

"You're the _real_ Ron Weasley" said one of them, concluding.

"Real? Of course, I am real. What do you mean 'real'?" Ron said, his hand gripping around his wand, an unknown knot of tension gathering in his stomach.

"Come with me" Mr Plumheart said, taking Ron by the hand to the train station.

There was quite a commotion at the station now. The Aurors were rescuing people from the perilously hanging train below. Almost all the people had been taken out to safety.

"Ginny?" Ron said to a woman silently watching all the commotion from the platform.

Ginny turned around. She studied Ron with a weird expression. That red hair...those worried eyes...that silly look, okay this _was_ her brother.

"Ron" she said and ran towards him, hugging him tightly, and started sobbing.

"What happened, dear?" Ron asked, patting her back.

"Some... Someone disguised as you and George. Very evil...very brutal men" she said in between sobs.

"Who? Where?" Ron asked shocked.

"Here, in Gringotts" Mr Plumheart said.

"But they must be dead by now" he added.

Suddenly the ground started rumbling.

"What's happening?" Ron asked, his brows creasing in panic.

"This isn't good. Everybody back off!" Mr Plumheart shouted.

All the Aurors and civilians screamed and ran towards the platform. From the dark void, two dragons flew upwards, smashing tracks as they flew.

The Hungarian Horntail came first before the hanging train. With one smack of its head and a whack of its thorny tail, the bullet train was crushed into pieces. Everyone screamed and ran for the exit. The dragons rose up, sending huge currents of winds as their massive wings flapped. There were reins of iron chains around their neck and a hooded rider sat behind each of them.

"My God" Ron said as the dragons flew up to the huge dome and smashed through the priceless white glass with their heads.

Shrapnel of glasses showered down and people screamed. Aurors put shielding spells to protect everyone from the showering glass. The dragons wiggled their way out of the dome into freedom, leaving Gringotts behind.

Ron stood rooted to his spot, watching the dragons fly into the distance, his mouth agape. He recalled how he, Hermione and Harry had escaped Gringotts some years ago on a dragon. _But this was different_.

"Those two were disguised as you and George" Ginny said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I want to see my locker" Ron suddenly said, a sick feeling rising in his stomach.

"What?" Mr Plumheart said.

"I want to see my locker. NOW" Ron said.

"Well okay..." Mr Plumheart said, knowing well that if a customer asked to see his locker, they couldn't deny him in the worst of circumstances.

"I'll come too" Ginny said.

Mr Plumheart nodded, linking hands with Ron and Ginny and apparated to Ron's personal locker. The locker was locked, which was a good sign. Mr Plumheart fixed in the master key and opened the locker. The trio went inside. The money seemed to be intact, but a source of light caught their eye. The light was coming from the muggle safe. It was open. Ron's worst fear came true.

"What happened?" Ginny asked seeing Ron's white face.

Ron bent down and checked the safe thoroughly. "The Deluminator. Its go...gone" Ron stammered.

His prized collection, the one piece that he truly felt proud of, was gone. Ron checked the safe once again, not missing a single corner. His hand touched something in the safe. He brought the thing out, his hopes high. Sadly, it was not the Deluminator.

"What's this?" Ron asked perplexed.

Mr Plumheart took it from Ron's hand and studied it.

"It is a sign left by the thieves" he concluded.

The sign was completely made up of gold. It was like a line within a circle within a triangle. More like a triangular eye.

"The sign of the Deathly Hallows..." words escaped Ginny's mouth...


	12. Chapter 10: The Round Table Conference

The evening sun set down and a cool breeze drifted through the lake where the secret warehouse of Mal'akh and Dastan stood. The two dragons had cosily slumped down in the magical boundaries Mal'akh and Dastan had drawn for them.

Mal'akh had named the Hungarian Horntail "Shrapnel" because of the shrapnel-like scales it had all over its body, while Dastan named the Norwegian Ridgeback "Soothe" because the dragon soothed him.

Dastan was busy figuring out their next move while Mal'akh sat at the nearby rocks, his brain in a deep trance. He was telepathically searching for his mistress but in vain. Finally, his brain found a signal. Like a snap, he caught upon it and quickly spoke through his mind.

"It is me, mistress" he said.

There was silence at the other end for some time then the mistress said, "My orders clearly said _not_ to contact me by wizarding means".

Her voice sounded eerily calm and it reflected that she was upset.

"I am sorry, mistress, I lost my phone" Mal'akh said, immediately regretting it because it sounded a pretty dumb reason.

"Any developments?" the mistress asked.

"We have the Deluminator" Mal'akh said.

"Good. Tell Dastan to fetch the elixir at dawn" the mistress said and her voice drifted away. Mal'akh woke up from the trance.

Aberforth Dumbledore sat in his Minister of Magic's office viewing the four code-red letters he had to issue. It could be his last day as the Minister of Magic. There was no telling how the council would react to the news. He had rehearsed the story several times now. With Harry Potter and Cadillio Cruz dead, there were no witnesses as to how the actual events unfolded and Aberforth was surprised at how credible his fake story sounded.

Three hours after the capture of Harry Potter, Aberforth Dumbledore received an e-mail on his server (which served as a direct communication link with the UK muggle government). It read:

 _This mail is written on behalf of the "muggle" government. We have your Minister of Magic in our custody. He is safe and sound. We need a negotiator from your side and a better means of communication with you. If you want to start a peaceful negotiation, send a messenger of yours at 119 A alley of Lombard Street at exactly nine PM tonight. If no one arrives at the time, we will take it as a negative response from your side._

 _Regards,_

 _The muggle negotiator._

Aberforth smirked at the height of diplomacy the foolish muggles used. He had figured out a means of communication. Of course, the messenger had to be his secretary, Jade. If there was anyone Aberforth trusted in this world, it was Jade.

Born as an orphan amongst the muggles, Jade Hartnell had a rough childhood. Often bullied and abused, she had developed a severe hatred towards everyone in the world. That was until she had found out that there was something different about her. Soon, a call letter came from a wizarding school and she was admitted to the Beauxbatons School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

From there, Jade channeled all her focus to just one mission of her life. _Kill every single muggle_. Aberforth needed just someone like her to share his visions. Thanks to her brutal and ambitious attitude, it didn't take long for Aberforth to let her in in his master plan. Jade was particularly excited about the "Killing Harry Potter" part of the plan because that, she believed, was the exact stimulus needed to spark a feeling of vengeance in the magical community. Aberforth now sat, waiting for Jade to return from Lombard Street.

Jade sat on a bench near Lombard Street, watching people walking by and smirking at the hopeless, fragile lives the muggles lived. She had earphones plugged in her ears, wizard punk-rock music blaring in it. She needed music whenever she felt excited. She kept a constant vigil on the 119 A alley. It was dark, yet she could make out if anyone arrived.

She checked her watch. It was 8:55 pm.

"Anytime now" she said to herself.

She was all geared up. Her wand was in her right pocket and a Glock 26 in her left pocket. As she felt the pistol in her pocket, a sleek black sedan pulled on the side of the street. A man in a suit got out and the car left, silently as it had come. The man stood purposefully still.

"Okay, here goes..." Jade said to herself. For a moment, she wondered how the fate of the two worlds was being decided by two people in a dark alley. But she shook those thoughts out of her mind.

She sat there for another couple of minutes, trying to judge whether there were signs of a possible ambush, but she couldn't see any. Finally, she got up and started walking towards the messenger.

The messenger was in his mid-forties and wore sleek spectacles. He saw Jade and his expressions hardened, trying to judge whether she just was a passer-by or the wizards' messenger. Jade stopped near him. The messenger was struck by the girl's appearance. He had expected someone with a long nose and a pointy hat and a broomstick to turn up, but instead, there was this girl, in her mid-twenties, dressed in casual clothes; a messenger of the wizards.

"I am the er... humans' messenger" the messenger said.

Jade said nothing. The humans? So what were the wizards?

"The _wizards_ are extremely unhappy with the muggle government" Jade said with a steely tone.

"The situation can be discussed, ma'am" the messenger said.

"So have your negotiators figured out any other means of communication?" the messenger asked.

"Yes. Do you have a cell phone?" Jade asked.

"Yes" the messenger said taking out his cell.

Jade transferred a webcam link to his cell and said "Tomorrow 9 AM. Tell your negotiators to be present".

The messenger nodded.

Jade took a few steps back and apparated into thin air, right in front of the messenger. The messenger had to pinch himself to make sure what he had just seen was real. Jade apparated into Aberforth's office. Her confident expression itself said that the meeting had gone the right way.

"Good" Aberforth said smiling.

It was time to send the code-red letters.

Neville Longbottom heard a "clink". He mumbled in his sleep. "Clink-Clink" he heard it again, this time louder. Neville awoke from his sleep.

"Lumos" he said and five candles lit themselves up, casting an orange glow in his bedroom.

He could see an owl at the window, clinking the glass with its beak. He looked at the clock. It was five minutes past midnight.

What was an owl doing at this time of the night? He got up from his cozy bed and opened the window. The owl flew in and dropped a letter and flew out again. Neville saw the letter. It was a code-red letter. Neville frowned, fully awake now. He opened the letter and read its contents.

"Damn you Aberforth" Neville cursed, starting to dress for the emergency meeting.

Neville was the last one to arrive at the Minister of Magic's office. There were four people sitting around a round table. Neville took his seat. He recognized the people as Darcy Pitch, Minister of International Magical Affairs, Russell Rosemary, Minister of Communications and Media, Jake Pokerface, Minister of Magical Armed Forces and Aberforth Dumbledore, Minister of Magic. Neville knew that this was a round-table conference. This meant that one of them needed some urgent advice on an issue and all of them sitting there were equal stakeholders in the situation.

Russell broke the silence and said "Tell us, Aberforth. Why'd you call a meeting in the middle of the night?"

Aberforth cleared his throat and said "Gentlemen. I need to start this meeting by pleading a resignation from my post as the Minister of Magic".

There were shocked gasps from all of them.

"What has happened, Aberforth? Speak freely" Jake said.

Aberforth sighed and begun his well-rehearsed story.

"It all started about a week ago. As you know, the muggle President of USA is on a tour of United Kingdoms, so I thought it was a good idea to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister of UK and the President of USA to do some political discussions. A meeting was arranged for yesterday evening. But four days ago, some sources of mine in the Muggle Ministry told me that those bastards were planning to kidnap the Minister of Magic. I literally lost my temper and wanted to declare a war on the muggles. But I controlled myself. I needed to confirm the news myself."

Aberforth stopped and pretended to wipe a tear. All the others were listening to him in rapt attention.

He continued. "So I called upon a very experienced Auror. I planned to make him polyjuice as myself and send him in the meeting as a decoy. Something, I believe, I should never ever have done. I gave him a magical pill and monitored all his movements from here. The Auror, one of the bravest men I've ever known, went to the meeting as my polyjuice decoy. Everything went well first. But soon the muggles tried to capture him. After a valiant struggle, the Auror died" Aberforth said and a tear slipped out of his eye into his forest of a beard.

There was a shocked silence among them.

Then Jake Pokerface asked, "Who was the Auror?"

"Harry Potter" Aberforth said quietly.

Neville's heart lurched at the name.

"What?" Neville gasped.

"Harry is dead?!" Neville said breathing heavily, trying to control his emotions.

Aberforth nodded.

"It is all my fault. I should never have taken such a step before taking the council's advice" Aberforth said.

Everyone was shocked. Harry Potter was dead? This was _not_ good news. The wizarding world would go crazy when they heard this news…

"Any message from the muggles?" Darcy asked.

Aberforth nodded and showed them a printed copy of the e-mail the muggles had sent. The men at the round table read the message and cursed at the height of audacity the muggles were showing.

"Not only are these bastards lying that the Minister of Magic is safe and sound, but they also expect us to negotiate. Who do they think they're dealing with?" Jake asked exasperatedly.

"Well, I need to tell you one more thing here. I have agreed for a webcam meeting, not for negotiations, of course, just to listen to what they have to say" Aberforth said looking down in shame.

"Hey, how could you yield to their demands?!" Neville shouted angrily.

Neville had it enough.

"I told you I was confused. It all happened in the blink of an eye" Aberforth said panting.

Neville's eyes moistened. What was he going to tell Ginny? Or to Harry's kids? Or to Ron and Hermione?

"I say we hold the meeting tomorrow. Let's see what the muggles have to say" Russell said putting a hand on the roundtable.

Darcy put his hand too, as a sign of affirmation. Jake thought for a while and put his hand. Aberforth looked at Neville and put his hand too.

Neville couldn't get the picture of Harry out of his mind. It was hard to believe that Harry was no more. He remembered Harry's smiling face and the adventures they'd had together. He wanted to know why Harry had to die for such a mundane reason. So he put his hand on the table in affirmation.

"Let the muggles know that the wizards are pissed off" Neville said, his teeth clenched in pure wrath...


End file.
